DIRECT ACCESS — DRIVING YOUR CAR ABROAD
Taking a Guatemalan-Registered Vehicle Out of the Country
Before you travel, have ready:
  • Circulation card and ownership certificate
  • Current-year ISCV paid (sticker)
  • Valid driver's license
  • DPI (CA-4) or passport (Mexico, Belize)
  • Notarized authorization if you are not the owner
  • Banjercito TIP if going to Mexico
  • Insurance covering the destination country
Mexico: TIP US$45 + IVA online · Belize: US$15 vehicle fee at the border · SAT 1550 · Verified: September 2026

Written by the Guatemala Life team, based in Guatemala City.

If you have a vehicle registered in Guatemala and plan to drive it to Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, or Belize, what matters are the destination country’s procedures. On the Guatemalan side, SAT publishes no exit permit for Guatemalan vehicles: we searched its vehicle and customs requirement lists on 24 September 2026 and it is not there. If someone charges you for a “SAT exit permit”, ask for the procedure’s name and confirm it at 1550. This guide covers what you need, where to get it, and the country-specific details.

Quick takeaway: SAT publishes no exit permit for Guatemalan vehicles. For Mexico you need the Banjercito TIP (US$45 + IVA online, or US$51 + IVA at a CIITEV module, plus a US$200-400 deposit by model year) and insurance covering third-party damage on Mexican federal roads. For Belize, a temporary permit at the border: a US$15 vehicle fee and a passport. For Honduras and El Salvador (CA-4) you travel with a DPI and the vehicle enters under temporary import at each country’s customs. Always carry the circulation card, ownership certificate and license.

Mexico’s TIP verified 23 September 2026 with Mexican customs (ANAM); Belize fees verified with the Belize Tourism Board; SAT requirements checked 24 September 2026.

What confuses travelers most: each destination country controls the vehicle separately. For Mexico, it’s the famous TIP (Temporary Import Permit) from Banjercito — without that refundable deposit, you cannot legally enter with the car. For Honduras and El Salvador (CA-4) the procedure is simpler — but you still have to register the vehicle when crossing.

When You Need It

DestinationDestination Country PermitInsurancePassport?
Mexico (Tapachula, Comitan, Cancun, etc.)Banjercito TIP (US$51 + IVA at a module / US$45 + IVA online + dep US$200-400)Mandatory on federal roads (third-party damage)YES
El SalvadorTemporary import at border customsRecommendedNO (DPI works)
HondurasTemporary import at border customsRecommendedNO (DPI works)
Nicaragua (via Honduras + ES)Temporary import at border customsRecommendedDPI or passport
BelizeTemporary permit at border (US$15 vehicle fee)Sold at the border (US$8 per 24 h, per the Belize Tourism Board)YES (not CA-4)
Costa Rica / Panama (across all CA)Permit at each borderRecommendedYES

CA-4 Note: CA-4 lets Guatemalans cross with a DPI to Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua, but the vehicle is still treated as a temporary import at each customs office. DO NOT confuse personal mobility with vehicle mobility.

Required Documents

To cross with the vehicle

  • Valid passport (Mexico, Belize; DPI is enough for CA-4)
  • Valid Guatemalan driver’s license
  • Circulation card and ownership certificate
  • Paid ISCV sticker for the current year (vehicle registration and ISCV)
  • If not the vehicle owner: owner’s authorization with a notarized signature
  • If company vehicle: legal representative’s authorization + copy of their appointment
  • Insurance covering the destination country (in Mexico, third-party cover is mandatory on federal roads)
  • Banjercito TIP if going to Mexico

Step-by-Step Process

Step 1: Verify clearances before starting

  1. Confirm 2026 ISCV is paid
  2. Verify no pending traffic fines (online fines lookup)
  3. Have the circulation card and ownership certificate at hand
  4. If going to Mexico or Belize: have a valid passport

Step 2: On the Guatemalan side

SAT publishes no exit permit for Guatemalan vehicles (vehicle and customs requirements checked 24 September 2026). At the border, present your documents at migration and, if asked, the vehicle’s documents at Guatemalan customs. If you have doubts about your case, call 1550 (SAT Call Center) before you travel.

Step 3: Process destination country permits (case by case)

If going to Mexico:

  1. Log into banjercito.com.mx/registroVehiculos — TIP online
  2. Pay US$45 + IVA online (US$51 + IVA at a CIITEV module) plus the deposit: US$400 for 2007-and-newer models, US$300 for 2001-2006, US$200 for 2000 and older. It is refunded only if you register the vehicle’s definitive return before the permit expires
  3. Insurance: Mexican law requires third-party cover on federal roads and you choose the insurer (Ley de Caminos, Puentes y Autotransporte Federal, art. 63 Bis)

If going to El Salvador / Honduras (CA-4):

  1. Temporary import of the vehicle at the country’s customs when crossing
  2. We publish no fee: we found no official source from each customs service
  3. Insurance recommended

If going to Belize:

  1. Temporary permit at the Melchor de Mencos border: the Belize Tourism Board publishes a US$15 vehicle border fee and a US$5 fumigation
  2. Insurance sold at the border (US$8 per 24 hours per the Belize Tourism Board)
  3. Passport mandatory

Step 4: Cross the border

  1. Arrive at the border with all documents in order
  2. Guatemala migration: exit stamp
  3. Guatemala customs: show the vehicle documents if asked
  4. Destination country migration: present passport or DPI (CA-4)
  5. Destination country customs: present the TIP (Mexico) or process the temporary import

Step 5: Return to Guatemala

  1. Customs of the country you are leaving: cancel the vehicle’s temporary permit
  2. Migration of the country you are leaving: exit stamp
  3. Guatemala migration: entry stamp
  4. If you went to Mexico: present the vehicle at a CIITEV module at the border before the TIP expires to get your return receipt and the deposit back

Cost and Timing

ItemCostSource
SAT exit permitNot published by SATSAT requirements checked 24 Sep 2026
Banjercito TIP (Mexico)US$45 + IVA online / US$51 + IVA at a module + US$200-400 depositANAM
Insurance in MexicoSet by the insurer—
CA-4 temporary import (Honduras / ES)Not published—
Belize vehicle border feeUS$15Belize Tourism Board
Belize insuranceUS$8 per 24 hoursBelize Tourism Board
Passport (if you don’t have one)US$50 (5 years) or US$85 (10 years)IGM fee schedule (Acuerdo IGM-029-2023)

Common Errors

Details

Mexico’s customs agency, ANAM, prices the permit at CIITEV modules located at entry customs houses (US$51 + IVA) and online (US$45 + IVA), but its page does not list which crossings have a module, and we could not confirm one at the Guatemala–Mexico crossings. Getting the TIP online before you travel is the safe route. Without it you cannot drive the car into Mexico legally: go back and apply online, or leave the car on the Guatemalan side and cross on foot. Corrected 23 September 2026: this box previously said the TIP cannot be issued at the border and must be requested at least 7 days ahead; ANAM does price it at entry-customs modules and publishes no advance-notice rule.

Details

Check its territory clause before you go. What Mexican law says is that every vehicle on federal roads, highways and bridges must carry insurance covering damage to third parties, that buying it is the owner’s responsibility, and that owners cannot be forced to buy it from any specific insurer (Ley de Caminos, Puentes y Autotransporte Federal, art. 63 Bis). If your policy’s territory does not include Mexico, buy Mexican cover for the trip. Corrected 23 September 2026: this box previously said Mexico accepts only insurance from a Mexican carrier, with no exceptions.

Details

ANAM ties the refund to one event: Banjercito returns the deposit the same way you paid it provided the vehicle’s definitive return was registered before the permit expired. You register it by presenting the vehicle at a CIITEV module at the border, which gives you the return receipt. Card deposits go back to the card the next banking day; cash deposits are refunded in cash at any CIITEV module at the border customs houses. ANAM publishes no grace period after the car leaves. If the permit has already expired, ANAM describes a programme that gives 5 business days from filing a notice to return the vehicle legally. Corrected 23 September 2026: this box previously described a 30-day window after exit to cancel the TIP, which ANAM does not publish. Full detail: driving your own car through Mexico.

Details

Carry: (1) Authorization from the title holder with a notarized signature, indicating: full name of the authorized driver, driver’s DPI number, travel date, destinations. (2) Copy of the title holder’s and driver’s DPI. (3) Circulation card and ownership certificate. Each customs office decides what it accepts; without an owner’s authorization, the driver has no way to show they may use the vehicle.

Penalties

SituationConsequenceSource
Not registering the vehicle’s return before the Mexico TIP expiresBanjercito does not refund the depositANAM
Driving on Mexican federal roads without third-party insuranceBreaches art. 63 Bis of the Ley de Caminos, Puentes y Autotransporte FederalMexican law
SAT exit permitSAT publishes neither this permit nor an associated fineSAT requirements checked 24 Sep 2026

Diaspora — If Visiting Family Across Borders

For Guatemalans in the USA visiting family in Mexico before entering Guatemala (or vice versa), keep in mind:

  • If your car has US plates, you enter Guatemala with SAT’s temporary-import permit for tourist vehicles, issued at the customs office where you cross in (Q160 + Q100 per sticker + Q60); the car may stay up to the period migration grants you. See foreign-plated vehicle rules. (Corrected 23 September 2026: this line previously said 30 days without SAT processing.)
  • If you plan to stay longer, you must formally import it.
  • To bring a US rental car to Mexico/Guatemala: check the contract; many rental companies do not allow border crossings.